In the world of motorsports, Roger Penske might have it all. Racing since 1966, Team Penske is the most successful team in the IndyCar Series, owning 244 wins and 17 championships. In NASCAR, Penske has clinched five Cup Series championships and 154 Cup trophies. Besides, Penske also owns the NTT IndyCar Series (since 2019) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And Penske is making the best of both worlds, with IndyCar doing another collaboration with NASCAR.

Heading into 2026, Roger Penske has some fresh tweaks for the IndyCar schedule. A majority of them are a direct result of the recent one-third ownership stake purchased by FOX. The media partner now has branches in both the open-wheel series and its stock car series counterpart, leading to a shared use of common asphalt.

Another date for the two disciplines

Most ovals are in the stranglehold of NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports. Presently, IndyCar visits Iowa Speedway as the only NASCAR-owned track, besides visiting three out of the five independently-owned tracks. But this is slated to change for the 2026 season. According to an update earlier this month, NASCAR will swoop into IndyCar territory for the Feb. 27 to March 1 weekend. The Craftsman Truck Series will join the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, IndyCar’s season premiere. The Truck race will be flagged off on February 28, and Roger Penske’s IndyCar race will follow immediately after on March 1. This snuggle session between the two disciplines’ events has just booked itself another date.

According to IndyCar court reporter Nathan Brown, “@IndyCar’s 2026 schedule is expected to have a jam-packed March slate featuring 4 races in 5 weekends, highlighted by a return to @phoenixraceway sharing the venue with @NASCAR Cup & @NASCAR_Xfinity series.” IndyCar last visited Phoenix Raceway across a three-year stretch from 2016 to 18 but left largely due to lackluster attendance. Before that, the Indy Racing League (IRL) visited the track in 2005. Now, however, the schedule itself primes itself for a solid NASCAR-IndyCar crossover weekend – courtesy of Roger Penske‘s financial synergy with FOX.

While this news is jaw-dropping, Roger Penske’s series has yet to fix a date on the March 7-8 weekend. It largely depends on both the available TV slots for FOX and the flexibility of decision-makers at both the Phoenix track and NASCAR. Reportedly, IndyCar running on Saturday alongside the Xfinity Series is the expected plan. Another dilemma to solve is both series running on the same channel and creating a lead-in effect for whichever one is running on the backend. Nevertheless, NASCAR continues to outsmart IndyCar; outside the Indianapolis 500, the Cup Series continues to be ahead of IndyCar in terms of both TV ratings and general fan base size across the country.

While Roger Penske figures out his schedule interlap between NASCAR and IndyCar, one of his champions is in the spotlight.

Underestimating Roger Penske’s champion yet again?

In 2024, there was one Cup Series driver who was in the shadows. Joey Logano was little more than a passing thought throughout the first half of the season. He could barely overcome his lackluster finishes with a quintuple overtime victory in Nashville, which punched his playoff ticket. However, Logano’s real rage began during the playoffs, where he ferociously won races en route to a career third championship. This year as well, Roger Penske’s star-studded driver is again in the down low. Many prediction models have kept him outside the top five or even top ten entirely for the 2025 championship chances. However, one of Penske’s insiders sent out a friendly warning to Logano’s rivals.

Team Penske President of NASCAR Operations Michael Nelson issued some valuable words last weekend. Logano may have finished 27th in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, but don’t let that fool you. Nelson said, “I think overlooking Joey Logano is a pretty big mistake. He’s obviously really good. You saw that again tonight and had put himself in position and basically ran up front all night.” He continued about the hardworking No. 22 Ford team: “That team is experienced, they’re capable, they’ve been through this before. I think that really is a feather in their cap going into the playoffs, is that they’ve been there and done it before, so they have confidence that they can get it done.”

Clearly, Roger Penske is already gearing up for a glorious season. Once 2026 begins, new goals will be on the horizon – and we cannot wait for the NASCAR-IndyCar crossover!